Who did you expect --- a scientist, boat captain or politician?
Instead, how about an acclaimed photographer whose connections to the Great Lakes inspire images of startling interplay between nature and man? Or a Native American with ancestral Great Lakes roots, and a teacher using freshwater as inspiration for students learning chemistry?
Those unique viewpoints and more will take the stage Wednesday evening, May 13, at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y., during “Unexpected Voices of the Great Lakes,” a presentation and panel discussion cosponsored by the IJC’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board and Buffalo-Niagara Riverkeeper.
The free, public event runs from 6:30- 8:30 p.m. at the gallery, 1285 Elmwood Ave., in Buffalo. Registration is requested at unexpectedvoices.eventzilla.net.
Edward Burtynsky, an internationally acclaimed Canadian photographer, will discuss how his connection to the Great Lakes has helped shape his craft. A predominant theme in Burtynsky’s images is “nature transformed through industry.”
“Even the act of taking something from the earth is natural, since we are not outside of nature,” Burtynsky says on his website.
“What is different today is the scale … we are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times. “
The 2013 trailer for Watermark, a feature documentary from multiple-award winning filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, and Edward Burtynsky.
The panel discussion following Burtynsky’s talk will include:
- Allan Jamieson, a member of the Wolf Clan of the Cayuga People. He has worked with numerous native communities on issues related to water access. He is a founder of Neto, a Native American nonprofit based in Buffalo that started the Buffalo Creek Treaty Canoe Paddle held annually on the Buffalo River.
- Sandy Smith Cunningham, an educator from Nichols School in Buffalo whose innovative seventh-grade science curriculum teaches the principles of chemistry through the lens of the Great Lakes and environmental resources. She has been deeply involved in Great Lakes education and outreach.
- Jill Jedlicka, executive director of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. Jedlicka is a recognizable local expert on water quality issues and Great Lakes policy. She will provide a rare insight and reflection of her own personal journey to lead one of the world's largest Waterkeeper organizations.
The panel also will include a student from South Park High School in Buffalo who is active in his school’s efforts to educate and inform a new generation about the importance of the Great Lakes and its tributaries.
The evening is part of the 188th meeting of the Water Quality Board, being held May 13 and 14 in Buffalo. The Board is the principal adviser to the IJC in identifying, assessing and addressing water quality matters under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
